‘Convincing people to come out to vote is the biggest challenge’

At the moment it will be premature to guess what type of response we will get. The golden opportunity for a historic election was in March-April when the public mood was entirely in favour of polls. Now, the turnout figures will be affected as the political situation has changed dramatically. I still believe rural Kashmir will show a decent turnout. About urban Kashmir, I have my doubts.

•Will the poll boycott call have some bearing on the poll prospects of your party?

Much depends on which pockets, rural or urban, come out to vote and whether they are from areas of our candidates or the rival’s. However, with fewer votes polled, the polling process becomes very uncertain.

•Are you satisfied with the selection of candidates for the polls? How have you tackled dissensions in the party?

The beauty of selecting candidates is that you really don’t know whether the choice is right or wrong till the poll results are announced. If the candidate wins, the choice is right and if he loses, people say the choice was wrong even though they were happy with his selection initially. We have looked at all aspects and no decision has been taken in haste. But no decision is without its fallout. In some cases, we have been able to convince people to work for the victory of the desired candidates, but in some cases personal interests have surpassed party interests. I have made it clear that if someone cannot sacrifice personal interests for the sake of the state and the party, then the sooner such people leave the party, the better it is.

•What is the general mood among the party workers in the Valley?

Some workers are very enthusiastic. They want to start the process of electioneering for the victory of the party. In some areas, there is a complete lack of interest among the workers, especially in Srinagar and other urban areas. In rural Kashmir, the mood is mixed. I have already said that it will not be an ideal time for an election.

•How will these elections be different from those held in 2002?

The fundamental difference is the level of violence. So far, after the announcement of elections and issuance of poll notification for the first two phases, there has not been any poll-related violence. This is a marked contrast to what happened in 2002 or in 1996. I hope the trend continues and the level of violence remains non-existent.

•How will the coming polls be different from the 2002 elections for the National Conference?

Every election comes with its own challenges. In the past, we considered the Congress and the PDP as the biggest challenges in Kashmir. Today, we believe that an equally significant challenge is to convince people to come out and vote. In Jammu, we are also fighting a battle against divisive forces that have sought to polarise the situation by creating a division among communities on regional and religious lines. This time, the elections remain a very challenging one. For a party like ours, this sort of scenario makes it tougher because the National Conference is not a party that will sacrifice one region for another.

•During the last elections, the NC emerged as the single largest party, but you preferred to sit in the Opposition for want of majority. What will be your stand in case of a hung verdict this time?

We hope there is no hung verdict as people have seen the disaster that a coalition government can create in the state. In the entire six-year period of the coalition government, I hardly remember any period when there were no fights in the Cabinet meetings. Even minor postings and transfers were not possible. Governance was hostage to swinging moods of the Congress and the PDP. In 2002, we did not stake claim as we were the party in power that had not been given the mandate. As we are not the party in power today, all options are open to us.

•What will be the first thing that you would like to do if your party is voted to power?

It is essential to bring out a white paper on the financial mismanagement during the coalition rule so as to make people get some sort of accountability from the past government. In view of allegations of discrimination levelled by people in one region against another, I would also like to appoint at least a retired Supreme Court judge to examine all aspects of planning, fund allocation, actual expenditure, investment in private and public sector, employment and representation in government.

•How do you compare the PDP’s self rule document with your party’s greater autonomy as a possible solution to the Kashmir issue?

The important distinction between the self-rule and our autonomy document is that the latter has been attested through the Assembly. It is a document that nobody could find any legal or constitutional flaw with. The PDP’s self-rule document appears to be only a political propaganda. The party was in power for six years and if they were serious, they should have brought it to the Assembly in the form of a resolution for a threadbare discussion on it and then presented it to the Centre.